Dieting to save money

[cronewitch]

I am dieting so eating way less food. So even if I spend much more per pound of food my total cost of food is almost nothing.

I am not eating things that are in packages like crackers or pasta. I am mostly having a few ounces of protein and some whole grains and vegetables. I had two pieces of bread today, one ounce of cheese and one whole wheat tortilla. I had a half cup or less of cottage cheese and one hard cooked egg. Then I made soup with one chicken breast, cauliflower, corn, brown rice and broccoli. The soup will serve several servings and taste like ginger since I cooked ginger with the chicken. I think a whole day of food probably didn't cost more than $2. I could have spent that much on two things from the vending machine and been still hungry.

[Deleted]

Every time I diet, it seems more expensive. Good, fresh food costs more than cheap processed foods. Notice that this is the opposite of what Lonewolf posted. I think it really depends on quality either way.

[raeoflyte]

We could certainly stand to cut down on processed food, but when I'm really on plan it is expensive--at least in the winter time.

2 apples a day cost .70-1.09.

1/2 a bunch of asparagus is 1.25

Large salad with romaine hearts is 1

So that's $3 a day just on produce, just for myself. Once summer hits, we'll have lots of zucchini from my folks, and the produce in the store will come down in price. I know there are ways to get those costs down even in the winter, but I haven't mastered working full time, and spending all weekend in the kitchen--and honestly don't plan too.

[findingdeadbeats]

I have noticed that I can lower our grocery bills by not buying things that are processed. Interestingly enough, it also cuts way down on the trash our family generates.

Now, to find solutions for two hungry young adults... who I swear could eat nearly the entire grocery store in one sitting - yet never seem to gain weight. I want their metabolism!

[Deleted]

May 4, 2012 21:52:03 GMT -5 @insurancegal said:

Which is fine, as long as you have $ to replentish healthy foods when necessary.

I think crone's point is she IS eating way healthier and it is much cheaper!! I didn't see anything wrong with the new diet . . . except you need Quinoa - wonder food that it is.

[DVM gone riding]

Yeah I could definately make something better for less per serving then the processed food I buy but it takes so much Time and energy.

I think the concept has merit.

[cronewitch]

May 5, 2012 10:31:05 GMT -5 @findingdeadbeats said:

I have noticed that I can lower our grocery bills by not buying things that are processed. Interestingly enough, it also cuts way down on the trash our family generates.

Now, to find solutions for two hungry young adults... who I swear could eat nearly the entire grocery store in one sitting - yet never seem to gain weight. I want their metabolism!

Here is an idea to feed your sons. Teach them to hunt and gather. Send sons out to harvest foods from nature. You have guns so with a hunting license each you three could get three deer for the freezer every fall. You have a house so you can have a garden, have them dig it for you then plant food like zucchini or winter squash and tomatoes or even a lot of potatoes and carrots. Send the boys fishing or go with them bring home 5 trout each and make a smoke house to smoke them or freeze in water in milk cartons.

Plant some fruit trees like plum and apple and have them pick blackberries and other wild foods.

Make jam and jelly or freeze whole fruits to make smoothies. Frozen plums can be frozen without seeds then used as a frozen treat.

Feed the boys stews with all the garden foods and venison with a loaf of home baked bread and home made jelly for very little cost.

When buying groceries look for price per pound so the less processed the cheaper. A 50lb bag of rice is less than 50c a pound where a pound of chips might cost more than $2 a pound.

We grew up this way, dad shot deer, we all fished, we had fruit trees and gardens. We also raised rabbits and ate rabbits. We kids and mom did a lot of home canning foods we got free or really cheap. We picked green beans for a farmer so she gave us leftover beans at the end of the season. We would can like 90 quarts. We picked huckleberries and blackberries that grew wild.

We could get 8 trout each so 5 people brought home 40 trout a day using worms we kids got behind the rabbit cages for bait so free fish. Dad would smoke the leftover trout but when we fried too many I liked to make trout sandwiches like tuna sandwiches.

We would get buckets of smelt in February and fished for salmon in the summers so we didn't just live on trout.

My parents bought food too like bananas or potatoes or beef but our food bill wasn't bad for raising teenagers and we ate good.

[findingdeadbeats]

We do some gardening and some fishing. They no longer stock the lakes/rivers here, so trout fishing isn't as good as it used to be.

I don't like deer meat. You can hunt elk here, but a tag is $393 and that doesn't even guarantee you get any meat.

I live in a high desert area, so I cannot grow many of the same things that can be grown at lower altitude or in other types of soil. We freeze/snow here till the end of May, and the growing season is very short.

[weltschmerz]

May 5, 2012 11:46:04 GMT -5 @rockit said:

May 4, 2012 21:52:03 GMT -5 @insurancegal said:

Which is fine, as long as you have $ to replentish healthy foods when necessary.

I think crone's point is she IS eating way healthier and it is much cheaper!! I didn't see anything wrong with the new diet . . . except you need Quinoa - wonder food that it is.

I love quinoa! Delicious! Hemp seed sprinkled on salads is also an excellent source of protein.

[weltschmerz]

Here is an idea to feed your sons. Teach them to hunt and gather. Send sons out to harvest foods from nature. You have guns so with a hunting license each you three could get three deer for the freezer every fall.
--------------------
My son would rather shoot himself, than shoot a deer.

[findingdeadbeats]

I have a DS who had a hunting license. However, it isn't as simple as walking out in the yard and bagging dinner.

A license/tag is expensive, deer aren't that easy to find in the woods that are legal (requiring gas for the 4WD to go into said woods) and then you pay to have your deer dressed and butchered, which is also very expensive.

I would hazard to guess that when DH hunted, it was much cheaper to buy beef on sale.

[Deleted]

Kind of like salmon fishing. By the time you pay for the license, boat time/gas, bait, freezer, etc - its some of the most expensive fish I ever ate!!!

[weltschmerz]

Crone, do you like tabouleh? Bulgher or buckwheat, with lots of chopped parsley, tomato, lemon, a touch of EVO, fresh mint, shallots or onion. It's not expensive, but it's healthy and delcious.

[Deleted]

I love tabouleh!

[weltschmerz]

May 5, 2012 17:30:06 GMT -5 @angel33 said:

I love tabouleh!

Who doesn't?

[Deleted]

Weird people with no taste.

[cronewitch]

I never had it or even saw it what is tabouleh? I don't like buckwheat.

[Deleted]

Who doesn't?
Weird people with no taste.

Or weird people who are allergic to parsley.

Crone, can you try googling it in google images to see if you recognize it? It's a cold salad. Here the base is made of couscous, or semolina, or bulgar, with tiny bits of chopped cucumber, tomato and onion, and parsley and mint on top.

The Lebanese version has a LOT of parsley, I can't eat that one.

[swamp]

You're allergic to parsley? I've never heard of that allergy!

But, I concur that tabbouleh is yummy.

[Deleted]

You're allergic to parsley? I've never heard of that allergy!

Yes, and me neither. I can have very small quantities of it. I can just scrape it off if it comes on top of a dish in a restaurant, but obviously I'm not scraping off every single bit.

I can't have Lebanese tabbouleh though, that gives me a very bad reaction.

I used to be allergic to yellow mustard, but I don't think I am anymore (not sure). And I'm allergic to mangoes. Like the parsley, I can have a tiny taste, but no more.

When I was married to my ex 30 years ago mangoes were crazy expensive, so we used to share one. After he left I said "cool!" and ate a whole one, I had to call an ambulance (Quincke's edema).

Food allergies are weird, and they can come and go. But I never tested the yellow mustard or ate more than one tiny bit of mango in a fruit salad again.

DH does a GREAT tabbouleh but he puts the parsley on the side now LOL.

[weltschmerz]

May 5, 2012 17:50:28 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

I never had it or even saw it what is tabouleh? I don't like buckwheat.

It's SO good! You can make it with bulgher wheat, quinoa or couscous if you don't like buckwheat.

[weltschmerz]

Though traditionally overlooked as just a garnish, parsley is a giant amongst other herbs in terms of health benefits, and in such small amounts too. Here are six reasons why a sprinkle of parsley can not only make your meals tastier, but also your body healthier.

Anti-Cancer
Studies show that myristicin, an organic compound found in the essential oil of parsley, not only inhibits tumor formation (especially in the lungs), but also activates the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, which helps the molecule glutathione attach to, and fight against, oxidized molecules. Myristicin can also neutralize carcinogens like benzopyrene in cigarette smoke that can pass through the body, consequently fighting against colon and prostate cancer.

More at:
www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/6-health-benefits-of-parsley.html

[cronewitch]

If you boil a bit of parsley then drink it like tea it is a diuretic. It can help you lose bloat a little but it taste very green.